John s



J. s. ADD ISON. GOLD WASHER AND AMALGAMATOR.

No. 12,237. Patented Jan. 16, 1855.

" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN s; Al b'IS ON,OF NEW, YORK, NY.

eon) wAsiiEi't AND AMALGAMATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 12,237, datedJanuary 16, 1855 To all whom, it may concern: I g

Be it known that I, JOHN S. ADDISON, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and, useful improvements in apparatus for performing the washing and amalgamating processes to separate gold or other metals from" the silicious and earthy matters with which they are or may be mixed; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in whi'ch- Figure 1, is a vertical longitudinal section of a washing and amalgamating apparatus constructed according to my invention showing it in operation. Fig.2, is a plan of the apparatus. Fig. 3, is a horizontal section of a portion of the same in the line a, :1], of Fig. 1. Y

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

A, is a box of cast iron or other material erected upon suitable standards and supporting at its rear end a tank B, which is in free communication with it and Which is kept constantly filled with water which'enters it by a pipe C, at the top. At the front end of the box A, is a smaller box D, having communication with it only by a pipe or passage E, at one side which is openedand closed or regulated at pleasure by a sluice valve F, worked by a screw (6. The box D,

is of suitable form to contain a horizontal water Wheel G, which is driven by the stream of water which issues at thepassage E, and

fills the box D. This water wheel extends":

into the box. This trunk is cylindrical as far as b, and from thence enlarges, and is continued upward still 1n cylindrical form, terminating at such a height that there would be an overflow of water from the tank B. A short distance below the top the trunk I, is surrounded by a trough K, which is to contain a small quantity of quicksilver and is to receive the overflow from J. This trough contains awall a, to keep the water away from the center and is surrounded with,

i a rim L, which turns over deepest part of the trough where th'equmk silver remains is almost directly elow-the edge of the rim J, sothat the overflqw; will fall into the middle of the quicl'csilver. the lower part of thetrunk I, there other trough M, substantially like K, except that the rim ,is not required to turnover, and it is much larger than K, in order that the overflow from K, may fall in the middle of the quicksilver which like K, it contains in the deepest part of its concave bottom. From the trough M, the overflow or water carried by pipes N, N, N, which descendinte receivers O, O, O, which stand on the bottoiii of the large shallow trough P, in which stands the whole of the apparatus; The trunkI, is entered just above I), where it enlarges, by a pipe Q, which conducts the auriferous sand or earth, ,or crushedoreor quartz from a hopper K, into the trunk. The box D, is provided with windows d,' 2i, of glass talc or any transparentmaterial on the several sides which are exposed, in order that the interior operation may be watched, and the trunk 1, contains a'wiiidow ,]oe lo vv the .pipe Q, and one f, above iton each side for a similar purpose. I v

In the top of the trunk is placed what term an amalgam chest consistingpfan toppedbox S of metal or other suitablema' terial, having its sides and bottom reticu lated or finely and closely perforated, fitting to the trunk in such a way that there is no outlet from the trunk exceptthrough it. This box is about three parts, filled,',,with I a mixture of silver or some other metal and iquicksllver, the silver or other metal in a granulated state or in strips orsmall tubes and containing the quicksilverpn the surfaces and in the cellular parts. 'lllfl ob;

ject of he amalgam ch st is to effect" has often been attempted but never success ,fully accomplished, namely, to force'thediq uefied paste of aurif erous ores in a finely ;divided state through quicksilver, so as to bring nearly every particle contact there:

with.

Before being submitted to theoperation of this apparatus, the ore, quartz or other min- *eral containing the gold or metal if not I, and it descends by its gravity into the trunk I, where it is met by the ascending current which is produced by the superior head of Water in the tank B. The upward current of water through the trunk should be so regulated by the valve F, and the supply of ore or quartz &c. be so regulated by any proper means that the force of the current will be just sufficient to carry up all the dirt particles .oigold to the bottomof the box D, where amalgamation'wvith the quicksilver (which is shown in Fig. 1, in purple tint) is assisted by the gentle and not too rapid agitation of the latter by the scraper II. All the solid matter except the heavier particles of gold are forced by the upward current through the quicksilver-coated metal in the amalgam chest S, where by reason of the very finely divided state in which it is passed through the quicksilver, and of its having to find its way through small interstices between the granules, a large proportion of the gold will be amalgamated. All the solid matter that passes through the amalgam chest is carried, by the overflow of water. over the rim J, and falls into the deepest part of the trough K, where the quicksilver is contained, and by the gentle agitation of the quicksilver caused by the water falling into it, a portion of any remaining gold is amalgamated. The solid matter except the gold which may become amalgamated is carried by the overflow of water, into the trough M, where the same operation as takes place in K, is repeated. The overflow from K, is conducted by the pipes N, N, into the re ceivers O, 0, where if any gold remain it becomes amalgamated, nothing but the water V the same properly agitated to amalgamate and the dirt, or earthy or silicious matter, overflowing from O, 0, into the trough I, from which the water is allowed to overflow to leave the silicious or earthy residuum, which might be resubmitted to the operation of the apparatus, but it is, believed that the extraction of the gold will in almost all instances be so perfect with one operation that a suflicient quantity would not remain to pay for a second.

The separation of the gold in the trunk I, below the amalgam box is rendered more perfect by the circular motion which is given to the water in the box D, and in the trunk by the revolution of the water wheel G, and the position of the passage.

The only part of this machine having mechanical action are the scraper H, and the water wheel by which it is driven, and these are driven by the same water which effects the washing operation.

Having thus described my invention I will proceed to state what I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent.

Though I do not claim the employment of a trunk into which the ore dirt or silicious matter containing the metal to be extracted, is fed to meet an ascending column of water as herein described, nor the operating of the scraper by a water wheel driven by the entrance water either of itself or connected with other devices, I claim 1. Placing such a trunk I, above a box D, which forms a receptacle for the gold or other inetal separated in the trunk, and which contains a proper quantity of quicksilver for amalgamating the said gold or metal, and also a water wheel G, which is driven by the entrance into the said box of the water which is to form the upward current in the trunk, for the purpose of giving motion to a scraper H, to agitate the quicksilver to promote amalgamation, all substantially as herein described.

2. I claim the arrangement around a trunk into which the pulverized ore, quartz, &c., is fed to meet an ascending current of water which flows through and over the trunk, of

one or more troughs K, M, to contain quicksilver and a correspondmgnumber of overhanging rims J, L, situated above them in such a manner substantially as herein described, that the flow of water, ore, &c., over one rim falls into the middle of the quicksilver into the trough below it, and keeps with it the whole or some portion of the gold or metal contained in the overflow, as herein fully set forth.

1 JOHN S. ADDISON. Witnesses:

S. H. WALES, I. G. MASON. 

